Ryhmes with Seuss

Toastmasters International
Communications and Leadership Program Manual
Project Five - Your Body Speaks

Ryhmes with Seuss
by Paul T. Abramson

I searched and I searched and I searched in vain.
But my quest just lead to pain.

One day I found myself without a job.
I lived in fear I’d become a slob.

The rent was due.
I had no car.
My life long dream seemed very, very far.

My luck would change.
It was coming back.
My mother, to me, had sent a fax.

It was an ad.
It made me glad.
I read with glee.
I did not frown.
The ad, you see, said the circus was in town.
Come work for the circus and runaway.
Have some fun and get some pay.

This opportunity I could not pass.
To the site, I hauled my ass.

In Century City? Oh, woe is me.
A corporate job it must be.
What is this? This thing I see.
This thing I see in front of me.
To my surprise, a circus tent.
So that is where I went.

The pay was bad.
The perks were good.
I rarely had to purchase food.
With a great health plan,
I’d see this land.
This type of work, I could stand.

I no longer was a failure.
OK, so I lived in a trailer.

I would not call it a dump.
Although the restrooms were Andy Gump.
I lived with people from many cultures.
Some would often behave like vultures.

To them Andy Gump was bad, I think.
They’d leave a calling card in the sink.

First night was great.
We partied long.
Next week we moved.
T’was a different song.

In town one month to do the show.
To many new places, I did go.
I saw the Grand Canyon and the Alamo.

Two days load out. Eight days load in.
That is how we earned our pay.
To do my job I’d watch the show
Sometimes twice a day.
This is bad? I’d never say.
The performances were great.
But it soon became apparent the old lady would always drop the plate.

An archer would shoot and fear no dread
An apple off his own dang head.

No elephants, lions, or tigers, oh geez.
There was an elegant equestrian and a lady with geese.

An acrobat did her act while standing on a pole
Balanced on the head of a man on stilts.
It’s amazing he never tilts.
Precision was part of their role.
I’ll always remember her. She was the one,
I often dreamed would become
The future Mrs. Abramson.
Dream on, Paul. You’re so shy.
You could never be her guy.
The circus was her life, that’s why.

A year went by and some months more.
Sweeping the tent had become a chore.
In many new towns I did roam.
Each town left me with thoughts of home.
I thought of the family I’d love to greet.
And of the newborn cousin I’d love to meet.
I thought of the dream that had passed me by.
Each loan payment I made, I asked
Why, oh God, Why?
Why should I let life be as it is?
Why not be happy?
After all, it’s Show Biz.

I studied to make movies, I know in my heart.
But a job like this I could never part.

My frustration boiled much more than I knew.
I did my job hard and I did my job through.
But it didn’t seem good enough to a fellow I knew.
He made me upset. He made me uptight.
Before I knew it, we had a fight.
I said something awful. I’m sorry to this day still.
I never should have uttered the words “I will kill.”

The next night when I showed up to work
I knew without a doubt I was a jerk.
My days with the circus had expired.
My boss told me I was fired.

Two days on a Greyhound bus home I did ride.
Sleep was something I was denied.
Believe me, God I tried.
But every time I closed my eyes,
The brat behind me cried.

This is now and that was then.
I can always speak proudly of way back when.
It is now just a fond memory.
When I ran away with the circus,
And the circus ran away with me.

Paul T. Abramson is a member of Toastmasters Rising Star Club #1653 which meets on the first and third Tuesday nights each month, 6:00, at Paty's Restaurant - 10001 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, California. He is currently serving as Vice President of Public Relations.